Worcester man killed by train identified

WORCESTER — Police say that the man killed by an Amtrak train Thursday night was Oscar Cintron, 26, of Worcester, and that he was riding his dirt bike on the tracks when he was hit.

Police also confirmed that there was a second man on a dirt bike who was riding with Mr. Cintron, and that man fled the area.

According to the Worcester Police, an Amtrak train traveling from New York to Boston about 9:15 p.m. Thursday was on a straightaway section of railway, when the train engineer saw a man on a dirt bike riding to the left of the train, heading in the opposite direction.

The engineer reached to hit the train's horns. Just then, the train entered a curve, and the engineer saw a second man on a dirt bike coming straight at the train. The engineer hit the horn and the brakes at the same time, but the man on the dirt bike hit the train.

The train stopped, and the crew got out of the train and found the victim. The other rider did not stop, and left the area, according to a Police Department press release.

Worcester paramedics pronounced the victim, identified as Mr. Cintron, deceased at the scene.

Police spoke with witnesses who told the officers that they could hear the pair riding dirt bikes on the tracks. The witnesses said the tracks were active during that time because another train had traveled through earlier.

One witness said he believed the victim was a barber who worked at a Main Street salon.

Local officials said the train involved is owned by Amtrak and was operating along the Lake Shore Limited route, which runs from Chicago to Boston.

As a result of previous accidents, two local community groups are launching a campaign early next week to warn Main South and South Worcester residents about the dangers of trespassing on railroad property.

The Main South Alliance for Public Safety and the South Worcester Neighborhood Improvement Corp. will begin an outreach campaign about the dangers of crossing railroad tracks.

It will begin with the distribution of 1,000 leaflets to neighborhood households.

"This is a problem that we've been dealing with for some time," said William Breault, chairman of the MSAPS.

Mr. Breault said his organization began working on the issue after a 14 year-old girl lost part of her leg in a train accident Dec. 4.

The victim, a 9th-grader at Doherty Memorial High School, was walking with two others along the tracks near 100 Barber Ave.

At one point, she made a grab for a ladder on a Providence and Worcester Railroad Co. train, officials said. They noted that she lost her footing, and the train rolled over her.

Officials said the accident occurred near a section of the tracks that was used by a number of people as a short cut.

Mr. Breault said that since the accident his crime watch group has been working with police and railroad officials to try to keep people off the tracks.

He said a number of informational programs have been held in at least a half dozen public and private schools warning students about the danger.

In addition, the rail personnel have replaced missing fencing along stretches of tracks. Mr. Breault said that added camera surveillance and an increased police presence might be cutting down on trespassing.

The last train fatality in the city occurred in August 2010, when a 19-year-old man was killed by a train behind the Price Chopper parking lot at 50 Cambridge St.